Russia's transport ministry report that at least 14 crew members have died after two ships caught fire in the Kerch Strait near Crimea.

Fourteen people were killed, and five were missing off Russia-annexed Crimea in the Black Sea on Monday after a fire engulfed gas tankers sailing under the flag of Tanzania.

The spokesman for Russia's Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport Alexei Kravchenko said there are 11 bodies, and another three people went under water.